The search for balance is fundamental in the art of Alayne Spafford. The challenge in her work is to reconcile a natural tendency to organize and polish with a strong desire to reject those principles in favour of chaos and disorder. Evidence of this can be seen in both the process and finished product of her work. Although the initial foundation of base colour is applied rather spontaneously and with limited self-censorship, the subsequent layering of colour clearly demonstrates a strong influence of the conscious mind. During this process shapes and marks are added and manipulated in order to build a complex yet intuitive order. Upon first glance, the end result often appears chaotic and almost random, yet closer observation reveals a strong personal aesthetic and organic sensibility that pays homage to such artists as Paul Klee, Cy Twombly, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Squeak Carnwath. As such, the artist's work mirrors her internal struggle to find balance between the opposing but complementary aspects of her nature.